How a Commerce Website Development Works

Recently a retailer asked me how e-commerce website development works, and I misunderstood the question and started to detail the technology that we use. Turns out, what she wanted to know was a bit more process oriented; what she needed to know was what to expect, and what we expected of her in order to get her up and running. Here's a breakdown of how it works over here:

1. Working with the retailer, we discuss the visual element requirements, such as colour, look and feel, website elements from other sites that they like, website elements from other sites they don't like, and what their current branding efforts look like. (Design Consultation.) We then discuss the functionality requirements, such as Merchant Account Providers, Inventory Management, and any additional functionality requirements such as Newsletters or Coupons. (Functionality Consultation)
2. Based on the Design and Functionality Consultations, we work on a design that addresses their wants and needs, while addressing the desired functionality of the site.
3. Based on the the Functionality Consultation, we implement the Commerce System with the required modules and customizations, and take the customer on a walkthrough of their system.
4. We present the client with the proposed design, and any changes to the design are applied.
5. The client enters their inventory and content for their site through the administration system.
6. Any additional external vendors are confirmed by the client, such as the Merchant Account Provider.
7. The final design is implemented, and the site goes live!

From start to finish, this process generally takes between 4 to 6 weeks, and is dependent on the speed of the clients responses. The fastest that I have seen a Commerce System be implemented is 7 days from start to finish, and was only possible due to a very organized client with an existing design; I understand that it took them 2 months prior to contacting me for them to develop their content and take their pictures.